The High Alps are those parts of the Alps unsuitable for habitation or seasonal transhumance. This includes all regions higher than 3,000 m above sea level, as well as most regions between 2,500 m and 3,000 m (Juf at 2,126 m is the highest permanently inhabited village in the Alps. Alpine pastures are typically below 2,400 m but may exceptionally be located as high as 2,800 m.[1]).

The High Alps have tundra or ice cap climate rather than the Alpine climate eponymous of the Alpine region at 1,800-2,500 m, above the tree-line but still amenable to transhumance economy.

The alpine line of perpetual snow is not fixed; the occurrence of favorable meteorological conditions during several successive seasons can increase the extent of the snowfields and lower the limit of seemingly permanent snow, while the opposite may cause the limit to rise higher on the flanks of the mountains. In some parts of the Alps the limit is about 2,400 m elevation, while in others it cannot be placed much below 2,900 m; as very little snow remains on rocks angled more than 60°, this is soon removed by the wind, some steep masses of rock remain bare even near the summits of the highest peaks, but as almost every spot offering the least hold for vegetation is covered with snow, few flowering plants are seen above 3,350 m.

The climate of the glacial region has often been compared to that of the polar regions, but they are very different. Here, intense solar radiation by day, which raises the surface when dry to a temperature approaching 27°C, alternates with severe frost by night. There, the Sun, which never sets is only able to send feeble rays that maintain a low temperature, rarely rising more than a few degrees above the freezing point. Hence the upper region of the Alps sustains a far more varied and brilliant vegetation.

The valleys of the rivers Inn and Enns mark their northern boundary, the Drau river their southern border. In the proposed SOIUSA system, the "Central-eastern Alps" include the Rhaetian Alps, of which the Bernina Range includes the 4,049-meter Piz Bernina in Switzerland, the easternmost 4,000 meter peak of the Alps. In the AVE system, the full list of mountain groups in the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps includes the Bernina and neighboring ranges within the Western Limestone Alps, not the Central Eastern Alps as the Alpine Club defines them. In Austria, the Eastern Alps are divided into the Northern Alps, the Greywacke zone, the Central Alps and the Southern Alps; the latter lie in South Carinthia, but in Northeast Italy. The Central and Northern Alps are separated by the Northern Longitudinal Trough, the line Klostertal–Arlberg–Inn Valley–Salzach Valley as far as Lake Zell–Wagrain Heights–Upper Enns Valley–Schober Pass–Mürz Valley Alps–Semmering–southern Vienna Basin; the Central Alps and Southern Alps are separated from one another by the Southern Longitudinal ValleyPuster Valley –Drava Valley–Klagenfurt Basin–Meža, or the Periadriatic Seam, not identical with the Southern Longitudinal Trough.

The range is the most glaciated. In the transition zone between the East und West Alps its peaks dominate the region to the west. On the perimeter, there are less high less rugged mountain chains, like the Gurktal Alps and the eastern foothills; the Eastern Alps is separated from the Western Alps by a line from Lake Constance to Lake Como along the Alpine Rhine valley and via the Splügen Pass. The Central Alps consist of the gneiss and slate rocks of the various Austroalpine nappes, with the exception of the Hohe Tauern and Engadine windows, where they are composed of Jurassic rock and limestones and, locally of granite; the Austroalpine nappes are thrusted over the Penninicnappe stack. Massifs of autochthonous, crystalline rock, which hardly moved at all during Alpine folding, do not occur in the Central Alps – unlike the case in the Western Alps; the aforementioned granite intruded near the fracture zone of the Periadriatic Seam. The Western Alps do not have this division into the Northern Limestone Alps, Central Alps and Southern Limestone Alps.

The Austroalpine submerges itself at the eastern edge of the Alps under the Tertiary sediments of the Alpine Foreland in the east and the Pannonian Basin. This fracture zone exhibits active volcanism; the Central Eastern Alps comprise the following ranges of the West Eastern Alps according to AVE classification, which geologically belong to the Southern Alps and are subsumed under the Western Limestone Alps division.: The Ortler Alps as well as the Sobretta-Gavia Group are sometimes classified with the Central Alps, because they lie north of the geological fault of the Periadriatic Seam. In terms of rock, the Ortler main crest is part of the Southern Limestone Alps. Geography of the Alps Media related to Central Eastern Alps at Wikimedia Commons

Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer. Transhumance is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2,000 m would be forests. While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal migration to high pastures is still practiced in Bavaria, Slovenia and Switzerland, except in their most frequented tourist centers. In some places, cattle are taken care of by local farmer families. In others, this job is for herdsmen. Most Alpine pastures are below 2,400 m; the higher regions not suitable for transhumance are known as the High Alps. The German word Alp or Alm is identical to the name of the Alps itself a pre-Roman term for "mountain". In French, the corresponding word for "alpine pasture" is alpage. Evidence survives of a transhumance economy in the Alps dating to the Neolithic period.

With evidence for pastures above the treeline reported for the Bronze Age in the Northern Limestone Alps. The transhumance system in the Alps has remained unchanged since at least the High Middle Ages, with a document referring to a summer pasture from 1204. Along the edge of the Alps, starting around 1300 in west and central Switzerland and a little in eastern Switzerland, cattle production became the primary agricultural activity. A number of specialized cattle markets grew up in Arona, Bellinzona and Varese in the south and Villeneuve in the west. In these communities on the edge of the Alps, transhumance included both the vertical movement of cattle to the alpine pastures as well as horizontal movement to the cattle markets. In the communities located in the central Alps, the herds were more diverse. There were large herds of sheep with much smaller cattle herds and other animals such as pigs and goats. While the inhabitants of the Alps had practised transhumance for thousands of years, during the Late Middle Ages it became important as the population decreased following the Black Death and the wars of this era.

Cattle production was much less manpower-intensive than farming, ideal with the reduced population. However, cattle production is much more capital- and land-intensive. Cattle production became an investment opportunity for citizens of nearby cities; the investors would purchase the cattle and rent the beasts out to small farmers or to herders for the summer. The smaller alpine communities did not want "foreign" cattle pastured in their alpine pastures, which led to conflicts between the alpine farming communities and the neighboring cities and monasteries. Conflicts over grazing rights and ownership of the alpine meadows led to several wars within what is now Switzerland, including the pivotal Battle of Morgarten, which started due to a long-simmering feud between Schwyz and Einsiedeln Abbey. In 2011, the UNESCO declared Alpine transhumance in the Bregenz Forest as intangible cultural heritage. In the valleys along the edge of the Alps, cattle production with associated transhumance was the rule.

However, in the inner alpine valleys the climate was drier which allowed farming at higher elevations. These areas tended to be mixed between farming and animal husbandry, with the animals being kept for fertilizer and plowing rather than food. However, in both regions the yearly movement was similar. Throughout the year, most of the population of the village remained on the valley floor and farmed the surrounding land for grains and hay. In the spring the herdsmen took the animals up to the middle pastures on the mountain slopes. In the summer, pigs were left in the middle pastures while the rest of the animals were moved to the high alpine pasture. At the end of September the animals were moved back to the lower pastures and cattle were stabled in the following month. Sheep and goats were stabled in December, unless the winter was mild they remained at the middle pastures with the pigs. In the regions where breeding dominated, the farms were large and isolated from each other. Where both breeding and farming were mixed, the plots were smaller and common fields were shared between the community.

During the Middle Ages many fields were converted into meadows, because of the prevalence of the breeding. In the north the fields were rotated without a fallow period, they were cultivated for 2 to 5 years used as a meadow for 3 to 10 years before going back under cultivation. However, in the mountain valleys, the fields near the communities were cultivated every year while the outer fields and alpine pastures were more allowed to lie fallow or used as a meadow; some people spent. In Johanna Spyri's novel Heidi, the "Alp-Öhi"" is such a person and despised by the villagers. Transhumance contributes a great deal to traditional Alpine culture, such as Yodel, Alphorn or Schwingen. Swiss folklore records many traditional tales about mythological creatures such as dwarves inhabiting the Alpine pastures, either helpful or causing mischief.

The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, be either higher in elevation, or lower; the permanent snow line is the level above which snow will lie all year. Snow line is an umbrella term for different interpretations of the boundary between snow-covered surface and snow-free surface; the definitions of the snow line may have different spatial focus. In many regions the changing snow line reflect seasonal dynamics; the final height of the snow line in a mountain environment at the end of the melting season is subject to climatic variability, therefore may be different from year to year. The snow line is measured using aerial photographs, or satellite images; because the snow line can be established without on-the-ground measurements, it can be measured in remote and difficult to access areas. Therefore, the snow line has become an important variable in hydrological models; the average elevation of a transient snow line is called the "climatic snow line" and is used as a parameter to classify regions according to climatic conditions.

The boundary between the accumulation zone and the ablation zone on glaciers is called the "annual snow line". The glacier region below this snow line was subject to melting in the previous season; the term "orographic snow line" is used to describe the snow boundary on surfaces other than glaciers. The term "regional snow line" is used to describe large areas; the "permanent snow line" is the level. The interplay of altitude and latitude affects the precise placement of the snow line at a particular location. At or near the equator, it is situated at 4,500 meters above sea level; as one moves towards the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, the parameter at first increases: in the Himalayas the permanent snow line can be as high as 5,700 metres, whilst on the Tropic of Capricorn no permanent snow exists at all in the Andes because of the extreme aridity. Beyond the Tropics the snow line becomes progressively lower as the latitude increases, to just below 3,000 metres in the Alps and falling all the way to sea level itself at the ice caps near the poles.

In addition, the relative location to the nearest coastline can influence the altitude of the snow line. Areas near a coast might have a lower snow line than areas of the same altitude and latitude situated in a landmass interior due to more winter snowfall and because the average summer temperature of the surrounding lowlands would be warmer away from the sea.. A higher altitude is therefore necessary to lower the temperature further against the surroundings and keep the snow from melting. Furthermore, large-scale oceanic currents such as the North Atlantic Current can have significant affects over large areas. In the northern hemisphere the snow line on the north facing slopes is at a lower altitude, as the north facing slopes receive less sun light than south facing slopes; the glacier equilibrium line is the point of transition between the accumulation zone and ablation zone. It is the line. Depending on the thickness of the glacier, this line can seem as though it is leaning more towards one zone but it is determined by the actual mass of ice in either zone.

The rates of ablation and accumulation can be used to determine the location of this line. This point is an important location to use in determining whether a glacier is shrinking. A higher glacier equilibrium line will indicate that the glacier is shrinking, whereas a lower line will indicate that the glacier is growing; the terminus of a glacier advances or retreats based on the location of this equilibrium line. Scientists are using remote sensing to better estimate the locations of this line on glaciers around the world. Using satellite imagery, scientists are able to identify whether the glacier is receding; this is a helpful tool for analyzing glaciers that are difficult to access. Using this technology we can better gauge the effects of climate change on glaciers around the world; the highest mountain in the world below the snow line is Ojos del Salado. Compare the usage of "snow line" indicating the boundary between snow and non-snow. Frost line Frost line Glacier High Alps Ice cap climate Tree line Charlesworth J.

France was a major participant in World War I, from which it emerged victorious, was one of the Allies in World War II, but came under occupation by the Axis powers in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and dissolved in the course of the Algerian War; the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, remains today. Algeria and nearly all the other colonies became independent in the 1960s and retained close economic and military connections with France. France has long been a global centre of art and philosophy, it hosts the world's fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the leading tourist destination, receiving around 83 million foreign visitors annually. France is a developed country with the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP, tenth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, human development.

Another theory is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon, which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca. However, it has been determined that these weapons were named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around; the oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from 1.8 million years ago. Over the ensuing millennia, Humans were confronted by a harsh and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras. Early hominids led a nomadic hunter-gatherer life. France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper Palaeolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved, Lascaux. At the end of the last glacial period, the climate became milder. After strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium working gold and bronze, iron. France has numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptiona

Theodul Pass, elevation 3,295 metres, is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais and Breuil-Cervinia in the Italian region of Aosta Valley. Theodul Pass is the second lowest pass and the easiest pass between the valleys of Zermatt and Valtournanche; the pass lies between the Matterhorn on the west and the Breithorn on the east and is overlooked by the Theodulhorn and Testa Grigia. The Rifugio del Teodulo is located just above the pass; the east side of the pass is covered by large glaciers part of the Theodul Glacier system and is part of a year-round ski area. On the Italian side, the pass can be reached from Breuil-Cervinia by a dead-end trail. On the Swiss side, trails go up from Gandegg Hut. In 1965, Percy Stallard rode his bicycle solo over the Theodul Pass; the Rough Stuff Fellowship, an organisation for enthusiasts of cross-country cycling, acknowledged that it was the first time a cyclist had done it. Stallard made it in less than 15 hours, sometimes through deep snow.

Horace Bénédict de Saussure was a Swiss geologist, physicist and Alpine explorer called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven. Horace Bénédict de Saussure was born 17 February 1740, in Conches, near Geneva, died in Geneva 22 January 1799. Saussure's family were Genevanpatricians, his father, Nicolas de Saussure, was an agriculturist and author who may have sparked Horace-Bénédict's early interest in botany. After attending the "Collège" of his hometown, he completed his studies at the Geneva Academy in 1759 with a dissertation on heat. In 1760, he made the first of numerous trips to Chamonix Valley, at the foot of Mont Blanc, to collect plant specimens for the noted Swiss anatomist and botanist Albrecht von Haller. In 1760, Saussure offered a reward to the first man to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Inspired by his uncle, the naturalistCharles Bonnet, the young Saussure did research on the physiology of plants and published Observations sur l'écorce des feuilles et des pétales.

The same year, at 22, he was elected professor of philosophy at the Academy of Geneva, where he lectured on physics one year, on logic and metaphysics the next. He taught there until 1786 also lecturing on geography, geology and astronomy, his early interest in botanical studies and glaciers soon led Saussure to undertake other journeys across the Alps. In 1767, he completed his first tour of Mont-Blanc, a trip that did much to reveal the topography of the snowy portions of the Alps of Savoy, he carried out experiments on heat and cold, on the weight of the atmosphere and on electricity and magnetism. For this, he devised. Other trips led him to Italy, where he studied Mt. Etna and other volcanoes, to the extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne, in France. Although a patrician, Saussure held liberal views that induced him to present in 1774 a plan for the development of scientific education in the Geneva College, which would be open to all citizens, but this attempt failed, he was more successful in advocating the creation of the "Société des Arts", inspired by the London Society for the Improvement of Arts.

Beginning in 1774 Saussure sought to reach the summit of Mont-Blanc on the side of Val Veny accompanied by the Courmayeur alpine guide Jean-Laurent Jordaney on the Miage glacier and on Mont Crammont. In 1776 he ascended the Buet, he climbed the Crammont in 1774 and again in 1778, in which year he explored the Valsorey glacier, near the Great St Bernard. In 1780 he climbed the Roche Michel, above the Mont Cenis Pass. In 1785, he made an unsuccessful attempt on Mont-Blanc by the Aiguille du Goûter route. Two Chamonix men, Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat, attained the summit in 1786, by way of the Grands Mulets, in 1787 Saussure himself made the third ascent of the mountain, his achievements did much to attract tourists to places such as Chamonix. Obsessed by the measurement of meteorological phenomena, Saussure invented and improved many kinds of apparatus, including the magnetometer, the cyanometer for estimating the blueness of the sky, the diaphanometer for judging the clarity of the atmosphere, the anemometer and the mountain eudiometer.

Of particular importance was a hair hygrometer that he devised and used for a series of investigations on atmospheric humidity, clouds and rain. This instrument sparked a bitter controversy with Jean-André Deluc, who invented a whalebone hygrometer. In 1788 Saussure spent 17 days making meteorological observations and physical measurements on the Col du Géant. In 1789 Saussure climbed the Pizzo Bianco near Macugnaga, to observe the east wall of Monte Rosa, crossed the Theodulpass to Zermatt, which he was the first traveler to visit. On that occasion he climbed from the pass up the Klein Matterhorn, while in 1792 he spent three days making observations on the same pass without descending to Zermatt and visited the Theodulhorn. All of Saussure's observations and experiments from seven Alpine journeys were summed up and published in four quarto volumes, under the general title of Voyages dans les Alpes; the non-scientific portions of the work were first published in 1834, since, as Partie pittoresque des ouvrages de M. de Saussure.

The Alps were the focus of Saussure's investigations. He saw them as the grand key to the true theory of the earth, they gave him the opportunity to study geology in a manner never attempted. Saussure examined the inclination of the strata, the nature of the rocks, the fossils and the minerals. Saussure had a thorough knowledge of the chemistry of the day and applied it to the study of minerals and air, his geological observations made him a firm believer in the Neptunian theory: He regarded all rocks and minerals as deposited from aqueous solution or suspension, attached much importance to the study of meteorological conditions. His work with rocks and fossils led him to believe that the earth was much older than thought and formed part of the basis of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Saussure carried barometers and boiling-point thermometers to the summits of the highest mountains, estimated the relative humidity of the atmosphere at different heights, its temperature, the strength of solar radiation, the composition of air and its transparency.

The polar regions called the frigid zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles, lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by Earth's polar ice caps: the northern resting on the Arctic Ocean and the southern on the continent of Antarctica; the Arctic has various definitions, including the region north of the Arctic Circle, or the region north of 60° north latitude, or the region from the North Pole south to the timberline. The Antarctic is defined as south of 60° south latitude, or the continent of Antarctica; the 1959 Antarctic Treaty uses the former definition. The two polar regions are distinguished from the other two climatic and biomatic belts of Earth, a tropics belt near the equator, two middle latitude regions located between the tropics and polar regions. Polar regions receive less intense solar radiation than the other parts of Earth because the sun's energy arrives at an oblique angle, spreading over a larger area, travels a longer distance through the Earth's atmosphere in which it may be absorbed, scattered or reflected, the same thing that causes winters to be colder than the rest of the year in temperate areas.

The axial tilt of the Earth has a major effect on climate of the polar regions. Since the polar regions are the farthest from the equator, they receive the least amount of sunlight and are therefore frigid; the large amount of ice and snow reflects a large part of what little sunlight the Polar regions receive, contributing to the cold. Polar regions are characterized by the polar climate cold temperatures, heavy glaciation wherever there is sufficient precipitation to form permanent ice, extreme variations in daylight hours, with twenty-four hours of daylight in summer, complete darkness at mid-winter. There are many settlements in Earth's north polar region. Countries with claims to Arctic regions are: the United States, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Russia. Arctic circumpolar populations share more in common with each other than with other populations within their national boundaries; as such, the northern polar region is diverse in human cultures. The southern polar region has no permanent human habitation.

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the …

The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura …

Satellite image of Switzerland in October 2002. On the north side of the Alps, the regions located above 2000m are covered by snow. The canton of Ticino (on the south side) is almost snow-free in early autumn.

Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer. Transhumance is a …

Five alps around Tierfehd, between 1280 (far left) and 1830 (foreground left) meters, highlighted by the afternoon sun.

In physical geography, tundra is a type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word тӯндар meaning "uplands", "treeless mountain tract". Tundra vegetation is …

Horace Bénédict de Saussure was a Swiss geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven. — Life and work …

Portrait of Horace Bénédict de Saussure (after the picture by Juehl, in the Library at Geneva)

Mont Blanc, meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe west of Russia's Caucasus peaks. — It rises 4,808.7 m above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic …

Nufenen Pass is the highest mountain pass with a paved road within Switzerland. It lies between the summits of Pizzo Gallina and the Nufenenstock. — The pass road from Ulrichen in canton of Valais leads to the Bedretto …

The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps, located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the …

The Central Eastern Alps, also referred to as Austrian Central Alps or just Central Alps comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and …

The Graian Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. — Etymology — The name Graie comes from the Graioceli Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and the Viù valley. — Other …

The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use, mountain recreation, animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt, and, in the longer term, the level of the oceans. Studied by glaciologists, the temporal coincidence of glacier retreat …

The Haute Route, is the name given to a route undertaken on foot or by ski touring between Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland.First charted as a summer mountaineering route by members of the English Alpine Club in the …

Col de l'Iseran is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is situated in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. — The pass is part of the Route des Grandes Alpes. It …

The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow will lie all year. — Background — Snow line is an …

The Glarus Alps are a mountain range in central Switzerland. They are bordered by the Uri Alps and the Schwyz Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south, the Appenzell Alps to the northeast. The eastern part of the Glarus Alps contains a major thrust fault which was …

The Maritime Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria. They are the …

Juf is a village in the municipality of Avers in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. At 2,126 metres above sea level, it is the highest village with permanent residents in Switzerland and in Europe. Juf has a population of about 24 inhabitants divided over 6 families in a concentrated …

The Schnidejoch is a mountain pass in the Bernese Alps, at 2,756 m above sea level, cutting across the ridge connecting the Schnidehorn and the Wildhorn. — Archaeological artifacts, their dates spread over six millennia, have been discovered …

The polar regions, also called the frigid zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles, lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by Earth's polar ice caps: the northern resting on the Arctic Ocean and the …

The Dauphiné Alps are a group of mountain ranges in southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. Mountain ranges within the Dauphiné Alps include the Massif des Écrins, Belledonne, the Taillefer range and the mountains of …

The Alps cover a large area. This article describes the delimitation of the Alps as a whole and of subdivisions of the range, follows the course of the main chain of the Alps and discusses the lakes and glaciers found in the region. — The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe …

The Alps seen from space

DEM-based shaded relief/hypsometric image of the Alps with the borders of the countries.

The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the water divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest peaks of a range; the Alps are something of an unusual …

A high mountain tour is a mountain tour that takes place in the zone that is covered by ice all year round, the nival zone. High mountain tours require special preparation and equipment. — Alpine Hochtour — In the Alps a high mountain tour is known in the German-speaking areas …

Mixed terrain on the Ortler's Hinter Arête, a classic high mountain tour

An ice cap climate is a polar climate where no mean monthly temperature exceeds 0 °C. The climate covers areas in or near the polar regions, such as Antarctica and Greenland, as well as many high mountaintops. Such areas are covered by a permanent layer of ice and have no vegetation, but …

Alpine climate is the average weather for the regions above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. — Definition — There are multiple definitions of alpine climate. — One simple definition is the climate which causes trees to fail to grow …

The Zwischbergen Pass is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Saas Almagell and Zwischbergen in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. — The pass lies between the Weissmies on the north and Portjengrat on the South. — See also …

The climate of the Alps is the climate, or average weather conditions over a long period of time, of the exact middle Alpine region of Europe. As air rises from sea level to the upper regions of the atmosphere the temperature decreases. The effect of mountain topography on prevailing winds is to …

Altitudinal zonation in mountainous regions describes the natural layering of ecosystems that occurs at distinct elevations due to varying environmental conditions. Temperature, humidity, soil composition, and solar radiation are important factors in determining …

Altitudinal zonation of Grand Teton in the Rocky Mountains (note change in vegetation as elevation increases)